Mobile track aligning machine and method



F. PLASSER ETAL MOBILE TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 20,1963 Fmmz 4.95562 INVENTOW JZSQF Wax/2&8

Zia/M United States Patent 3,196,803 MQlllLE TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE ANDMETHGD Franz Plasser and Josef Theurer, both of Johannesgasse 3, Viennal, Austria Filed May 20, 1963, Ser. No. 281,651 3 Claims. (Cl. 104-8)The present invention relates to improvements in track alignment whereina track must be moved laterally relative to the ballast whereon itrests.

Conventional track aligning apparatus falls essentially into two groups.In one group of track aligning machines, impact tools or jacks areprovided which directly engage a track component, for instance a rail,and move the track by moving the directly engaged track component. Thissubjects certain track components, particularly the rail fastening boltsconnecting the rails to the ties, to undue loads and tends to damage thetrack. In the second group of track aligning machines a selectivevibration in the lateral direction towards which the track is to bemoved is imparted to the track whereby the track glides in the desireddirection. In the first place, this still means that the necessarylateral motion is transmitted to the track through one of the rails,causing the indicated weakening of the rail fastening to the ties. Inthe second place, it has been found rather difficult to move a track byvibration in relation to the ballast whereon it rests and wherein thetrack ties are embedded, and even more difiicult to secure the track inthe corrected position. This is so because the natural elasticity of therails tends to force them back into their original position after thevibratory movement has stopped. Therefore, it has been necessary in suchmachines to mount ballast working tools laterally outside the tie ends,which remove or loosen the ballast adjacent one tie end, i.e. in thedirection in which the track is to be moved, and correspondingly to tampor compact the ballast adjacent the other tie end so as to prevent thetie from returning into its original position.

It is the primary object of the present invention to overcome thesedisadvantages of conventional track aligning operations and to move atrack laterally without, on the one hand, damaging any track componentand, on the other hand, with the certainty of maintaining the track inthe corrected lateral position.

The above and other objects and advantages are accomplished with amobile track aligning machine which travels on the rails of the track.As usual, the rails are mounted on ties and the ties are embedded inballast. According to the invention, the machine comprises a carrier andat least one impact tool is mounted on the carrier laterally outside oneend of a respective tie. The impact tool ha a lower end immersed in theballast to a level in hori- Zontal alignment with the tie end and spacedtherefrom whereby ballast is interposed between the tie end and theimpact tool end. A mechanism is operatively connected to the impact toolfor imparting to the impact tool end a forceful motion directed towardsthe tie end whereby an indirect pressure impact is transmittable fromthe impact tool end through the interposed ballast to the tie end.

The pressure is indirect because the impact tool end is spaced from thetie end so that its forceful motion is transmitted to the tie end onlythrough the interposed ballast. At the same time, this interposedballast is compacted by the forceful motion of the impact tool endtowards the tie end whereby the tie is effectively prevented fromelastically returning into its original (uncorrected) position.

Thus, in the track alignment according to this invention, the track ismoved laterally relative to the ballast bed by moving an impact toollaterally outside one tie end, immersing a lower tool end in the ballastto a level in horizontal alignment with the tie end and spacedtherefrom,

and imparting a forceful motion directed towards the tie end to theimpact tool end to transmit an indirect lateral pressure from the impacttool end through the interposed lballast to the tie end and to compactthe interposed balast.

According to a preferred embodiment, the lower impact tool end has aflat jaw extending parallel to the tie end and the mechanism comprisesmeans for moving the impact tool end in the direction of the tie end,preferably hydraulically, and means for vibrating the impact tool whileit is moved in this direction. Tools of this general type have been usedfor ballast tamping but, in contrast to such use which requires the toolends to reach below the level of the ties to tamp the ballast beneaththem, the end of the impact tool of this invention is in horizontalalignment with the tie end so that it may impart its motion to the tieend. Accordingly, the immersion depth of the impact tool in the ballastis limited to such horizontal alignment.

To make it possible to move the track selectively into one or the otherlateral direction, depending on the aligning requirements, it ispreferred to mount on the machine a pair of transversely aligned impacttools laterally outside each end of a respective tie and to provide eachtool with an independently operable pressure-transmitting.

mechanism for selectively exerting pressure against one of the tie ends.In this embodiment, it is advantageous to mount the upper ends of theimpact tools pivotally on a pair of transversely extending support arms,to link a hydraulically operated member to a respective toolintermediate its ends to impart the forceful motion to the tools and tohave a crank shaft cooperate with the support arms for imparting avibratory motion thereto and to the tools upon rotation, the crank shaftextending in the direction of the rails and substantially centeredtherebetween.

The above and other features of the present invention will be more fullyexplained in the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing whereinFIG. 1 is a schematic front elevation, partly in section, of the trackmoving tools and their mounting, viewed in the direction of the trackand the section being transverse thereto;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the track aligning machine; and

FIG. 3 shows a modification of the machine of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawing and first to FIG. 1, the track aligningmachine is shown to include a frame 17 mounted on Wheels 18 adapted totravel on the rails 10 of the track. The rails are mounted on ties llwhich are embedded in ballast bed 12. The impact tool carrier 1 ismounted on the frame on a pair of rail supports 16 extending in thedirection of rails 1t and the carrier has a corresponding pair of guidesl6, l6 glidably engaging the supports 16 for movably mounting thecarrier for adjustment in relation to a respective tie 11, as best seein FIGS. 2 and 3.

A cam shaft 2 mounted on the impact tool carrier 1 for rotation about anaxis extending in the direction of the rails cooperates with a pair oftransversely extending support arms 3, 3 and imparts vibratory motionthereto upon rotation of the shaft. In the illustrated embodiment, theupper ends of two impact tools 4, 4" are pivotally mounted on each outerend of the support arms whereby the impact tools are vibrated by thevibrating arms. Obviously, if desired, a single impact tool may bemounted on each support arm if its respective end 9', W is properlycentered in respect of an adjacent tie end. Also, if no vibration of theimpact tool is desired, the vibrating means consisting of the crankshaft 2 may be omitted as part of the mechanism for imparting to the 3impact tool end a forceful motion directed towards the tie end.

This mechanism is operatively connected to the impact tool and, in theillustrated embodiment, comprises the following means for moving theimpact tool end in the direction of the tie end:

The impact tool assembly 4 (which may consist of a single tool or a pairof tools, as actually shown) has its upper end pivoted to support 3 andis linked at respective pivots 5', 5" intermediate its ends to a toolmoving mechanism. The exact nature of this mechanism is immaterial fromthe point of view of the present invention and any suitable mechanismmay be used, which imparts to the lower impact tool end a forcefulmotion directed towards the tie end. The illustrated mechanism ishydraulically operated and each tool has an independently operablemechanism connected thereto for selectively transmitting an indirectpressure against one of the tie ends.

A useful tool moving mechanism is shown in FIG. 1 and includes, for eachtool separately, a fixed piston rod 3, 8" mounted on carrier 1 between apair of stop plates, each piston rod carrying a fixed piston 7, 7"intermediate the stop plates. A cylinder 6, 6 is glidably mounted oneach piston rod for reciprocating movement therealong, the pistonseparting the cylinder into two chambers. A hydraulic fluid conduit 26,26 is con nected to the inner chamber of each cylinder and is arrangedto receive hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic fluid sump (not shown), thesupply of hydraulic fluid to each cylinder being independently operableso that either one or the other cylinder may be moved, depending on thelateral direction in which it is desired to move the track. Whenhydraulic fluid is supplied to one of the cylinders through conduit 26'or 26", the respective cylinder will move inwardly toward the center ofthe track and will take along the corresponding impact tool which islinked to the cylinder at pivot 5', 5". To move the cylinder back intoits neutral position, a pressure fluid, such as hydraulic fluid orcompressed air, may be supplied to the outer chamber through conduit27', 27". Alternatively, a compression spring may be mounted in theouter chamber to force the cylinder back into its original position, allof which is well known in hydraulic motors and forms no part of thepresent invention.

The mechanism combining the vibratory and lateral motions makes itpossible to impart sufficient lateral force and pressure against thehorizontally adjacent tie end slowly to move the track with the machineon it in the desired direction. The efficiency of this movement isincreased by providing the lower impact tool end with a flat jaw 9, 9"extending parallel to the tie end.

In the preferred illustrated embodiment, the machine frame 17 carries asupport jack 13 having a foot-piece 28 arranged to cooperate with, andrest on, the ballast. The foot-piece is carried by piston 15 verticallymovable in hydraulic cylinder 14 so that the foot-piece may be movedinto engagement with the ballast and thus lift the machine off the trackrails sufiiciently to remove the load from the track and thus make itslateral movement easier.

As shown in FIG. 2, the track aligning machine frame 17 may be coupledto a tractor 26 which, if desired, may be a conventional mobile tracktamping and/ or track lifting machine. -To align the impact toolassembly 4 transversely with a tie 11 at the point where the track is tobe moved laterally, the tool carrier 1 is glidably mounted on frame 17on a support 16 extending in the direction of the track. In this manner,the position of the impact tool assembly may be readily adjusted inrelation to the track ties.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the machine frame 17 is supported at oneend on wheels 18 running on rails 10 while its other end is pivotallycoupled to the tractor 26 at 20. When the aligning machine is not used,it may be simply lifted off the track by a hydraulic motor illustratedto consist of cylinder 21 glidably holding piston 22 which separates thecylinder into two chambers. One end of the cylinder has a lug pivoted at25 to a lug on the machine frame 17 while a piston rod 23 extends fromthe other end of the cylinder and is pivoted at 24 to tractor 26. Whenhydraulic fluid is supplied to the upper chamber of the cylinder, themachine frame 17 will be lifted off the track about pivot 20.

A shown in FIG. 3, the track aligning machine may also beself-propelled, in which case it will be supported on front and reartrucks and the machine frame 17 will carry propulsion means for themachine.

While the invention has been described in connection with certain"preferred embodiments, it will be clearly understood that manyvariations and modifications may occur to the skilled in the art,particularly after benefiting from the present teaching, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in theappended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A mobile track aligning machine adapted to travel on the rails of thetrack, the rails being mounted on ties and the ties being embedded inballast, the machine comprising a support extending in the direction ofthe rails, a carrier movably mounted on the support for adjustment inrelation to a respective one of said ties, at least one impact toolmounted on the carrier laterally outside one end of the respective oneof said ties, the impact tool having a lower end immersed in the ballastto a level in horizontal alignment with the said tie and spacedtherefrom whereby ballast is interposed between the tie end and theimpact tool end, and a mechanism operatively connected to the impacttool for imparting to the impact tool end a forceful motion directedtowards the tie end whereby an indirect pressure impact is transmittablefrom the impact tool end through the interposed ballast to the tie end.

2. A method of moving a track relative to a ballast bed in a lateraldirection, the track consisting of rails mounted on ties and the tiesbeing embedded in the ballast, comprising the steps of moving an impacttool laterally outside one end of a respective one of the ties,immersing a lower end of the tool in the ballast to a level inhorizontal alignment with the tie end and spaced therefrom wherebyballast is interposed between the tie end and the impact tool end, andimparting a forceful motion directed towards the tie end to the impacttool end to transmit an indirect lateral pressure in said lateraldirection from the impact tool end through the interposed ballast to thetie end and to compact the interposed ballast while the other tie end isleft free to move in said lateral direction.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the impact tool end is hydraulicallymoved to impart the forceful motion thereto and the impact tool issimultaneously vibrated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,564 11/58Herlehy 1048 2,734,463 2/56 Hursh et a1 104-7 2,926,616 3/60 Talboysl048 2,966,123 12/60 Talboys 104-8 2,969,749 1/61 Plasser et al 104-12ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, EUGENE G. BOTZ,

Examiners.

1 . A MOBINE TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE ADAPTED TO TRAVEL ON THE RAILS OFTHE TRACK, THE RAILS BEING MOUNTED ON ITS AND THE TIES BEING EMBEDDED INBALLAST, THE MACHINE COMPRISING A SUPPORT EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OFTHE RAILS, A CARRIER MOVABLY MOUNTED ON THE SUPPORT FOR ADJUSTMENT INRELATION TO A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID TIES, AT LEAST ONE IMPACT TOOLMOUNTED ON THE CARRIER LATERALLY OUTSIDE ONE ED OF THE RESPECTIVE ONE OFSAID CARRIER TIES, THE IMPACT TOOL HAVING A LOWER END IMMERSED IN THEBALLAST TO A LEVEL IN HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE SAID TIE AND SPACEDTHEREFROM WHEREBY BALLAST IS INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE TIE END AND THEIMPACT TOOL END. AND A MECHANISM OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE IMPACTTOOL FOR IMPARTING TO THE IMPACT